Unequal Protection

In the last few years, Thom Hartmann has become one of the leading progressive voices in radio across America.  Hartmann has written many books as well. I have read a number of them including, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight and Unequal Protection.  The latter was one of the most enlightening and important books I have ever read. In it, Hartmann focuses on the concept of democracy and the measures in our constitution that guarantee equal protection under the law. 

What Hartmann shows is that nothing like that actually exists in America. In fact, we are a nation whose governing policies are shaped by a cabal of corporations and wealthy individuals who use their money to manuipulate the political system to their undue advantage. The foundation of this 'class warfare' being conducted against the general public interest rests on two morally bankrupt legal constructs.  One is the idea that 'money equals free speech', which in essence translates to 'he who has the money makes the rules'.  The other is the legal system's acceptance of  corporations as 'persons' under the law'.

The polarization of the 99ers against the the one percent is a tangible reflection of the gulf between the haves and the have nots.  It's the self-interests of a privileged few that seem always to prevail over the common good. Money is the ointment that allows nattow interests to make their own rules.

The five radical conservative Justices on the US Supreme Court made a mockery of the law when they pushed through their 'Citizens United' ruling in January, 2010. It gave corporations the right to spend unlimited amounts of money on politicians and elections, without any kind of public accountablility.

On so many issues where the common good is being undermined, the cause is political corruption, driven by 'corporate personhood' and 'money as speech'.  The only remedy for this is a simply and unequivocally stated constitutional amendment. 

Fortunately, there is a group called Move to Amend that is promoting just such an amendment.. Here is their eloquently stated mantra...

We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.

Amending the Constitution is very difficult. First an amendment must pass a vote in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. After that, it must pass a vote of the legistatures in two-thirds of the fifty states.  Very tough to do...but not impossible.  For it to happen, the citizenry of our country must rise up en mass and demand that our representatives support such a measure. 

At this time, there is a lot of talk about amending the Constitution. People recognize that something must be done There are numerous measures being put forth by different groups.  Some of these efforts are designed to deceive and dissipate the public's desire to affect positive change.  The fact is, we are all best served if we get behind one common effort and work together to see it through.  I believe of all the initiatives on the table, the simple language put forth by Move to Amend  offers our citizens the best chance to restore our governing process, so that it is truly 'of, by, and for the people'.

 ". . . corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings, to be sure, and their 'personhood' often serves as a useful legal fiction. But they are not themselves members of “We the People” by whom and for whom our Constitution was established."  ~Supreme Court Justice Stevens, January 2010

No matter what particular issue or injustice one is invested in,  the corruption that underlies that circumstance is the improper influence on politicians and public policy, fostered by 'Corporate Personhood' and 'Money as Speech'.  Until a Constitutional amendment addressing those two things is passed, we have no chance of restoring our democratic system of government.

Here is a link to the page on Thom Hartmann's website that talks about Unequal Protection.

http://www.thomhartmann.com/unequal-protection/index

Chesher's Dazzling 360 Photography

I first wrote about my friends Richard and Freddie Chesher in my 'Giant Clams' blog.  I will be writing multiple entries about them because they are such remarkable people. The next thing about them that I want to share is the web link to Rick's breathtaking 360 degree photo images.  He's not the only person in the world doing 360 photography, but he does it very, very well, and he is likely the only one using this image technology underwater in the islands of the South Pacific.

Here is a link to Rick Chesher's wonderful 360 photography...

http://www.360cities.net/profile/richard-chesher

Polar Bears Playing with Sled Dogs

Amazing video. Who could imagine it. Wild polar bears, huge and powerful apex predators of the Arctic, playing gently with a group of chained up sled dogs. It doesn't compute, but there it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE-Nyt4Bmi8&feature=player_embedded#!

The Drake Equation

Frank Drake is a famous astronomer. He played a leading role in the establishment of the gigantic Aricebo Radio Astronomy Observatory in Puerto Rico. 

Frank Drake has long been focused on some of the most important questions known to humankind...

In the vastness of the universe, are we the only intelligent lifeform? Does life itself only exist here on Earth?

In 1961, Drake and his colleagues took a set of assumptions, based mostly on theory, and came up with a mathematical equation as a way of estimating the number of other places in the universe that might support life. It is now called, The Drake Equation.

Here is a video link that features Drake's colleague, the late, great astronomer, Carl Sagan, explaining, The Drake Equation...
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ztl8CG3Sys

Given the incredible expansiveness of space, and the near infinite number of galaxies in the universe, each filled with massive numbers of stars;  etc., etc....what comes out of this very engaging, intellectual exercise depends on the assumptions put in.   The Drake equation shows just how much that must go right in order for life to exist. Having said that, it also shows that though the conditions for life might be exceedingly hard to come by, there are so many possibilities in the vastness of the universe, that life, even intelligent life, could be common.  Then again, it might not be...  

Astronomers have been trying to detect incoming radio signals from every corner of space since the early 80s..  In all that time, nothing has come up that could be attributed to alien intelligent life from some other part of the universe.  The search continues...

The takeaway is there is no place in the vicinty of planet Earth that is particularly hospitable to life...at least not for life as we know it.  We humans may be unique.  We may well be alone in the universe.  We  have only one planet on which life flourishes, and we know that all seven billion plus of us humans depend on its rapidly dwindling, living bounty for survival. The smart play would be to appreciate what we have, and take very good care of it.  Unfortunately, that's not how it's going.  We need to mend our ways, and we need to do it soon, before its too late...

Zorthian

Jirayr Zorthian was famous and much admired as a classically trained artist.  He was also a remarkable character. Adept at making friends, his public face was always intellectually spirited and always bubbling with kindness and playful cheer. 

Jirayr Zorthian

It was a treat to visit Zorthian and his warm and charismatic wife, Dabney at their ranch in the hills overlooking Pasadena, California. That place was the most delightfully quirky 48 acres anyone ever saw....  Jerry Zorthian passed away in 2004. He was 92.  Dabney followed him two years after that. I miss them a lot.

Dabney Zorthian

The Zorthians had many friends...so many friends.   Jerry's most famous friendship was with Nobel Prize winning Cal Tech physicist, Richard Feynman.  One of the most prominent members of the team that built the first atomic bomb at Los Alamos during World War Two, Feynman wrote about Zorthian in his very engaging biography, Surely You're Joking, Mister Feynman.

Check out this video clip of Feynman and Zorthian talking about their friendship. It's a hoot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkDJtsFd6Mg

Every year in May at the Zorthan ranch, there was a 'Primavera'  birthday party for Jerry.  It would attract something on the order of four hundred of his friends.  Late in his life, the highlight was an annual staged production, in which Jerry basked in the spotlight as the lounging Zor-Bacchus, with a dozen  young lovelies feeding him grapes, while they danced naked around him. It was joyful, not prurient. Jerry Zorthian loved being surrounded by his friends. He loved having fun.

I'm so glad I had the privilege of knowing Jerry and Dabney,  and being one of their friends.   I learned so much about enjoying life from them. 

The link below is to the Zorthian webpage, still maintained by people who loved Jirayr and Dabney. It celebrates the art both of them created, while offering some insight into their extraordinary lives.

http://zorthian.com/

Humboldt's Cosmos

I first learned about the naturalist and explorer,  Alexander Von Humboldt from my friend, Michael Tobias.  

Alexander Von Humboldt

After reading the wikipedia report on Humboldt, it was clear he was one of the most remarkable human beings that ever lived.  I wanted to know more. I obtained a copy of Gerard Helfrich's very engaging biography, Humboldt's Cosmos.  I enjoy reading biographies of exceptional people, and the story of Alexander Von Humboldt's explorations of Latin America made between 1799 and 1804 is truly amazing.   Accompanied by his friend, the French botanist, Amie Bonplant,  Humboldt traveled throughout  Venezeula, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, and Cuba, collecting and cataloguing tens of thousands of plant species, most of them previously unknown to science.

Alexander Von Humboldt was born an aristocrat in Germany in 1769. That made him a contemporary of Thomas Jefferson, whom he later spent time with when the latter was in the White House, serving as the third President of the United States.

In 1802, accompanied by Bonplant,  Humboldt made an extraordinary ascent of  20,565 foot tall, Mount Chimbarazo in the Ecuadorian Andes. At the time, it was thought to be the tallest mountain on Earth. Humboldt and Bonplant made it nearly to the top. I can only imagine the kind of courage and fortitude required to take on such a challenge without the benefit of supplimental oxygen, crampons, ice axes, and the kind of weather insulated clothing that modern day climbers depend on.

Baron Alexander Von Humboldt died in 1859 at the age of 89. He was, without question, one of history's greatest naturalists.

These days, exceptional individuals like Humboldt and his colleague Bonplant don't stand out quite as much. Probably because the modern world has so many more educated and ambitious people, who are driven to excellence. I have to say, that's probably why I still remain hopeful that humans will find a way to muddle through...

  .

Guns and Money

I don't own a gun. Never have. I saw up close what they could do during my time in the military.  I don't mind if some people want to have them in their homes,  but I'm against the mindless proliferation of assault weapons, oversized cartridge clips, and shamefully easy access.  It shouldn't be a huge problem for someone to own a gun, but it also shouldn't be less regulated than a driver's license. Felons and mentally unbalanced people should not be able to buy a gun. That's just common sense. If you want sane gun policy, look at how Europe handles the issue.

Here in the US, the political right foments fear by carping about the left being opposed to gun owners.  That's a gross exageration, but the gun lobby sells it very well.

Last week, seventeen year old Trayvon Martin was gunned down in Florida for no good reason by a neighborhood vigilante. The boy was unarmed. The shooter was not threatened. The shooter was the aggressor.  A lot of people are upset about it. That's a very good thing.

I like what Paul Krugman had to say in a recent  NYTimes OpEd. Here is the link...


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/opinion/krugman-lobbyists-guns-and-money.html

The Snatchel Project

Women have been under attack in the political arena of late. They are fighting back.  One of the best ways, and also funniest ways, they are doing it is through the Snatchel Project, which calls for women to knit vaginas and uterous's and send them to elected officials, so they can have one of their own to abuse. "If they have their own, they can leave ours alone."

The message from Government Free VJJ, the group behind the Snatchel Project is this...

____________________

We are women. We are strong. We are smart, and we have a sense of humor
We do not need government interference with our doctors and our healthcare
We do not need government probing our vaginas to help us make decisions about abortion
We do not need government to give us guidance about whether or not to take birth control
We do not need misogynistic pundits calling us sluts and prostitutes
We are half the population and we will not be treated as children or a disenfranchised minority

________________

Give 'em hell, ladies.

Here is the link to the Snatchel Project...

http://www.governmentfreevjj.com/

An Artist in Nature

Mark Hosko likes to travel to far off places. He's been spending a lot of time in Africa in recent years. He loves to be in the right place at the right time to get incredible photo images of the various apex predators and megafauna that still can be seen in Africa's wild places. If an extended safari yields ten truly exceptional photo images, Mark is happy.  He brings those images home to Portland and applies his prodigious talent as a digital artist to transform them into truly wondrous works of art.

click on image to enlarge

Mark Hosko revers the natural world. He's deeply committed to using his great gift as an artist to inspire others to value untamed places and protect them and their indigenous wild species before it's too late.

Here is a link to Mark Hosko's webpage and his gallery of art inspired by nature...

http://www.markhosko.com/

The True Joy in Life

My favorite quote of all time comes from Irish playright and political gadfly, George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). He is most famous for Pygmalion, a play that ultimately became the broadway classic, My Fair Lady.

George Bernard Shaw

A champion of social justice and equal rights for women, Shaw once wrote...

This is the true joy in life...being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force for nature instead of a feverish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy...
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it what I can.
I want to be thoroughly used  up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live.
I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a splendid torch that I have got ahold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it over to future generations...

That quote has been stuck to my refrigerator for more than twenty-five years.  I recommend it as  powerful motivation...

Dancing with Matt

Matt Harding has taken a simple but fun idea and turned it into a global phenomenon. Since 2003, he's been traveling the world, doing his infectious little dance in all kinds of places, in all kinds of circumstances, with any kinds of people. Joy is the common denominator.

Here is a link to one of Matt's very engaging videos.  Fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWUrj22pRD0

The Smartest Human Ever?

Was William James Sidis the most intelligent person ever to walk the Earth?  

According to the Population Reference Bureau, the total number of people born since humanity's beginning is something on the order of 110 billion.  Maybe there was someone else in that massive number who was even more advanced than Sidis.   Perhaps somebody like Aristotle or Euclid, or Galileo, had the same kind of raw mental crunching power.  No way really to know. This much seems certain. No other person has ever been reported that could match Sidis in brainpower.  At least no one that I've been able to find in the historical record. 

Sidis was born in 1898 in New York City. His I.Q. was estimated to be on the order of  250-300. The term genius is generally applied to I.Q. levels beyond 140.  Albert Einstein was slow compared to Sidis, who became a student at Harvard at the age of eleven.

At age thirteen, Sidis was lecturing graduate students on cosmological principles. He was reknown for his work in theoretical mathematics. At age eighteen, he wrote a text on Euclidean Geometry, in classic Greek.

William James Sidis

By the time he was eight years old, Sidis could read and write eight languages. In his lifetime, he became proficient in more than 40 languages.  He even invented his own language.

In spite of, or perhaps because of,  his extraordinary  intellectual gifts, Sidis was a social misfit.  As an adult, he withdrew from public life. He worked in a succession of low level,  civil service jobs, while writing books under pseudonyms on subjects as diverse as American Indian History, Anthropology, and Civil Engineering.   His interest in public transportation was reflected in his obsessive passion for collecting public transit transfer slips.

William Sidis died at the age of 44, of a cerebral hemorrhage.

His story is fascinating, but ultimately sad. Despite his prodigious intellect, he did not achieve any lasting noteriety. Just the same, wouldn't it be fun to try on that kind of brainpower, even for a day...

The Most Important Photo of All Time

This photo was taken more than forty years ago during one of the earliest Apollo manned missions to the Moon.  Until then, no one had ever seen the Earth from afar. This blue planet we all depend on appears small and fragile when surrounded by the dark emptiness of space.  We ought to take better care of it...

click image to enlarge

The Third Industrial Revolution

In 2007, The Hydrogen Age, a book, for which I was the principle author, reported on the emerging trends away from fossil fuels in favor clean renewable forms of energy. In the US, where the oil, coal, and gas lobbies dominate energy politics, this trend has been somewhat stunted. The same cannot be said about Europe.

In his recently published book, The Third Industrial Revolution, Jeremy Rifklin, President of The Foundation for Economic Trends, reports that the European Union and its members nations are aggressively pursuing a transition to clean, renewable energy. They have committed billions of euros to the process and cleared the way with financial incentives and a whole range of public policy initiatives. Wind, solar, geothermal, ocean wave, and other clean technologies are coming on line at an ever accelerating pace. Rifkin says this transition is in essence the opening stage of what he characterizes as the third industrial revolution.

It's not just happening in Europe. Latin America, Asia, and even Africa are following the European example.

One of the big impediments with wind and solar is the intermittant nature of the resource. It's not always windy even in the windiest places, and the sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day.  There are also times when wind turbines and solar panels are generating more energy than needed. When that happens, we need to be able to store that surplus wind and solar energy for use when needed. One of the best ways, and pretty much the only way renewable energy can be stored and transported long distances for use on demand is by taking the electricity produced from wind, solar, and other renewables, and converting it to hydrogen. That is best done by splitting water molecules into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen.  Hydrogen is the most abundant substance in the universe. When hydrogen is converted back into useable energy in a device called a fuel cell, it is totally pollutrion free. The only exhaust is water.

Hydrogen is highly flammable and can be hazardous, but no more so than gasoline or natural gas. A big part of the European strategy for the transition to renewables is the adoption of hydrogen as a fuel for automotive transportation. By 2015, many of the world's auto manufacturers will commercialize fuel cell vehicles powered by hydrogen, and hydrogen refueling stations will be found all over the European continent.

As the European Union goes, so goes the rest of the world. I only wish this kind of aggressive strategy was at work here in the United States. A renewable energy future using hydrogen as a primary energy carrier is the best way to wean ourselves off of dirty and increasingly costly fossil fuel energy. It is also the best way to walk human society back from the climate change precipice. Renewables, enabled by hydrogen translate to a pollution free energy future that is sustainable over the long term.

Here is a link to Jeremy Rifkin's website and latest book...

http://www.thethirdindustrialrevolution.com/

A Visual Demonstration of Chutzpah

 LOL...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VFS8zRo0pc&feature=related

Capitalism 3.0

Peter Barnes is a socially responsible entrepreneur. He has aso written a very important, very much underappreciated book. Titled Capitalism 3.0, the concept at it's core is elegantly simple. All natural commons - the atmosphere, oceans and fresh waters, all public lands, the earth's natural resources - must be reinforced in the law as the commons. Exploitation of these commons will be subject to strict regulation, and the public shall be the primary financial beneficiary of such exploitation. Those that serve the interests of the commons will be rewarded for their efforts. That's pretty much it. Not terribly complicated. An equitable idea that shouldn't be difficult for caring people to embrace.

Nurturing the commons is not socialism, and it's not communism. It's a very important principle that must be part of any reform of market capitalism that is sustainable, long term.

Here is the link to Peter Barnes's Capitalism 3.0 webpage...

http://capitalism3.com/

Sperm Whale Encounter

A beautiful, joyful, enchanting moment in time....

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7-y8LC50r8

Giant Clams

About twenty years ago, there was a story about giant clams in Outside magazine.  At that point, all I knew about giant clams is what I had seen in the Tarzan movies. You know, the pretty girl swims to the bottom of a lagoon and gets her foot stuck in a giant clam's mouth. Tarzan comes to the rescue.

The reality is there have been very few fatalities attributed to giant clams...if any. On a coral reef, they're the equivalent of couch potatoes.  Once they settle in, they cement themselves in place and are there for life. Giant clams are filter feeders, sucking in every kind of nutritive detritus that happens to float by.  They do it very efficiently; well enough in fact that they can grow up to about three feet in diameter. Unfortunately for them, they also happen to be good eating for pacific islanders, most of whom live off the bounty of the sea. In too many places, culinary appeal has turned the giant clam into an endangered species.

Anyway, this Outside magazine story I read was about Dr. Richard Chesher, an American marine biologist, who's working with local villagers in Vava'u in the Kingdom of Tonga to create  underwater sanctuaries to restore giant clams to places where they had disappeared because of overexploitation. And, it turns out, it's an idea that works. In places where you create clam sanctuaries protected by the local people, the entire reef is restored. 


So,  I tracked down this guy Chesher. The next thing I know, I'm in Tonga, hanging out with him and his artist wife,  Frederique Lesne aboard Moira, their beautifully maintained  44 foot sailing yacht/research base.  I find myself swimming above a circle of giant clams living happily in one of  Chesher's sanctuaries. Not exactly an everyday experience.The most satisfying thing that came out of that trip to the South Pacific was the lasting friendship  I developed with two of the most remarkable people I have ever met. Stay tuned for, Chesher's Dazzling 360 Photography,  my next blog entry about them.

http://www.unescap.org/drpad/vc/conference/ex_to_56_gcc.htm

Dancing Naked

So, not too long ago, I discovered this Portland-based website - www.dancenakedproductions.com  It's the internet connection to a young woman named Eleanor O'Brien and her platoon of sex-positive theatrical insurgents.  I happen to be attracted to sex-positive insurgents; especially those that employ humor and fun as their principle weapons.  So, I reached out to Eleanor.  We got together, and she's just the coolest person.   She's got this amazing resume.  A classically trained theater actress, she was inspired by Nancy Friday and other sex positive authors as well as Eve Ensler, author of the global stage phenomenon, The Vagina Monologues, to channel her energy into the creation of theater experiences built around joy-filled, sex positive themes.  We're talking live, stage shows; explicit, empowering  and fun, not some cheesy brand of erotica or porn.

Though Dance Naked Productions is based in Portland, Oregon,  Eleanor and her colleagues have performed to critical acclaim all over the United States and Canada. Some of their live theatrical events like, Dominatrix for Dummies, are one-woman shows starring Eleanor; others like Inviting Desire, feature an ensemble cast of delightfully brassy, sexpressive ladies, led by Eleanor.

The mission behind the fun is to push back against the entrenched repressive cultural morays that undermine the comfortable and joyful expression of sexuality, particularly with women.  Eleanor O'Brien entertains her audiences with lots of laughs, and hopes they come away feeling good about themselves and are eager to embrace a comfortable,  sex positive outlook on life.

Sign me up. I'm a fan.

Check out the DanceNaked webpage...

http://www.dancenakedproductions.com/

Nature, Beauty, Gratitude...

This wonderful short video reflects on the beauty of  life and the amazing gifts  nature bestows on us every single day.

thttp://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude.html

Communicating at Warp Speed

Jason Silva is a futurist. He makes little videos in which the ideas burst out as if  spewing from some kind of cosmological fountain. Silva sees humankind on an epochal journey seeking the hidden ecstatic truth that lies just beneath reality.   Better to let him take it from here.  Follow his energetic chatter if you can.

Here is a link to Silva's gallery of short videos...

http://vimeo.com/jasonsilva/videos/page:1/sort:newest

No Pants on the Subway

For 11 years,  Improv Everywhere, a New York based theater group, has staged its annual 'No Pants on the Subway' comedy insurgency.  The first event included only a handful of participants. The latest, in January 2012,  had over 10,000 pantsless subway riders in 59 cities, in 28 countries around the world.

Here is the link to 'No Pants on the Subway - 2012'    Enjoy...

http://improveverywhere.com/2012/01/11/no-pants-subway-ride-2012/

The Dance of Life

Photography is one of my passions. Like many avocations, you get out of it what you put into it. Modern digital technology provides the means to create photo images of extraordinary esthetic appeal. 

I shoot with a Canon 7D, a camera with amazing capability. Anyway, we had sunflowers in our front yard last summer. One day, I noticed the worker bees that were visiting those flowers regularly.  I pulled out the camera and started taking pictures. In this case, a nugget would be an image with a bee perfectly positioned on one of the flowers. Capturing such an image is more a matter of luck than anything else, since bees are always on a mission, and they aren't into primping and posing.

The image below came out of that spontaneous photo session in my front yard. I cropped it to the shape you see, then I processed it in Photoshop and applied an artistic filter to make it more like a painting than a photo. 

I've taken between 15 and 20 thousand photos over the past few years. This one is my personal favorite. I find it to be a wonderful window into the complexity and beauty of nature. The flower is bursting with pollen and nectar. The worker bee arrives and does its little dance, loading up on pollen and nectar in the process.  At the same time, the marvelous little insect is also dropping off pollen from other sunflowers, a critical fertilization step that leads to seed and the potential for the next season of sunflowers.  The worker returns to the hive loaded down with its precious cargo of nectar, essential food for the queen and the next generation of busy little bees.

This kind of symbiosis is an ecstatic truth, open and visible to all who care to notice. It is part of nature's wondrous dance of life that we all depend on, but too often fail to see.

click on image to enlarge

What is Ecstatic Truth?

I first learned about this term when I stumbled across a link to the German movie director, Werner Herzog.  His name has become synonymous with the concept of ecstatic truth.

By my personal definition, ecstatic truth is the deeper, timeless cosmological truth that lies beneath the pragmatic realities of everyday life.  Another person may have a slightly or even more than slightly different definition.   I don't care. This one works for me.

In fact, there are deeper truths at play even in the most mundane of human circumstances. Most of the time, for most of us, truths at that level are not part of our awareness.  One has to seek ecstatic truth, and the process of seeking, combined with one's knowledge and life experience, shapes what one sees.

A physicist named Werner Heisenberg got a Nobel Prize for illuminating a deeper truth he called 'The Uncertainty Principle', which in essence is that the very process of observing impacts and alters what one observes. For decades, cosmological theory has evovled with Heisenberg's uncertainty as part of it's foundation. 

Ecstatic truth lies on the other side of uncertainty, and it presents a unique face every time it is observed. 

Here is a video link that features Werner Herzog explaining ecstatic truth...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI3f5-Vdi7g

The Partnership Way

Back in the eighties, when I was young, I read a book that changed my perspective on a lot of things. That book was The Chalice and the Blade. The author is a wonderful human being named, Riane Eisler.

Eisler provides compelling evidence that in the pre-historic neolithic era, humans lived in small groups or clans that functioned on a cooperative partnership model in which men and women lived as equals, and shared responsibility and decision making. In fact, the evidence suggests that neolithic human life was closely tied to the cycles of nature. Women had a particularly sacred place in those primitive societies because their menses reflected the rhythms of nature, and because they were capable of giving birth to new life.

That pre-historic partnership paradigm was lost about 10,000 years ago when humans evolved from hunter-gather groups that moved about constantly to fixed communities that depended on agriculture for food. To provide a common defense against maurauders that survived by raiding and pillaging, settled peoples moved away from a partnership based culture to one dominated by males. From that time on, the warrior males of the species have pretty much run the show. Religion, governance, economics: the pillars of human culture are built on a male dominance model in which women are subjugated and belligerence and confrontation overwhelm caring and cooperation. All of human history, since the beginning of agriculture, has been shaped by male dominance.

Eisler's bottom line: Men and women must learn to live together in partnership as co-equals closely aligned to the natural world. It was that way once. It can be that way again. Advanced societies do seem to be headed in that direction. Women should be equal to men in all ways. It's only right, and it may be the only pathway to a future that is truly sustainable.

Riane Eisler founded the non-profit, Center for Partnership Studies.

Here is a link to her webpage....

http://www.partnershipway.org/

Here is a link to her book, The Chalice and the Blade...

http://www.amazon.com/The-Chalice-Blade-History-Future/dp/0062502891/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331706125&sr=8-1

How to Live Before You Die

Steve Jobs passed away not too long ago. He died too young.  He managed to hold off the pancreatic cancer that ultimately took him for several years.  After he faught it to a standstill the first time and he regained his strength, he gave a magnificent speech that focused on ambition, mortality, and living life to the fullest.

Here is the link to Steve Jobs' commensement address at Stanford University.

http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html

Snoring Dormouse

This video is precious. A tiny creature asleep in the palm of a man's hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlS3w1GGE8g

Hysteria

I learned about Hysteria, a movie scheduled for release sometime this Spring by Sony Classic pictures, when my path crossed with Tracey Becker, one of that project's producers. Tracey became engaged on Change Agents, a project I am currently developing with my colleague, Chad Kirkpatrick.    I knew when I saw the trailer for Hysteria that Tracey was the right person to comment on the work we are doing.

The trailer for Hysteria is a hoot. I haven't seen the movie yet, but if it turns out to be as much fun as the trailer is, we're all in for a big league treat. The subject of this movie is a malady a great many women suffered with in the 19th century and before. Hysteria was not any kind of illness, but instead was a reflection of women's frustration over having to deny their natural inclination to sexual orgasm. Built around the story of the doctor in Victorian England, who invented the 'vibrator', Hysteria was directed by Tanya Wexler, a young filmmaker perfectly suited to translate this story into a totally delicious movie experience.

Take a moment to look at this. It's really fun.

The link to the Hysteria trailer follows...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkEw3mWs86g

Daryl Hannah

There's this actress named Daryl Hannah. When I was young, she was one of the hottest, most desireable women on the planet. She played Madison the stunning blond mermaid in a movie called, Splash. She was the object of Steve Martin's amour in the wonderful comedy feature, Roxanne. She's been in a bunch of movies; a lot of them were good, some were even better than that.

I've known for a long time that Daryl Hannah is a good soul; a very good soul indeed. She's a committed activist for animal rights. She's a vegan.... that's a really committed vegetarian for those who are ignorant of such things. She also makes her own movies for the internet about stuff that matters; about nature, the environment, human rights; things that reflect compassion and caring. I don't mean she hires somebody to make her movies for her. She does it herself.

Daryl Hannah was and remains drop dead gorgeous. For a time, she was 'A' list; one of the most celebrated people in the world. She could easily have taken a frivolous pathway through life. Instead, she chose to be a person of substance. That makes her a good soul in my mind. That goodness is on full display on her webpage, as are many of her videos.

Here is the link to dhlovelife, Daryl Hannah's webpage

http://www.dhlovelife.com/v2/opening/

Here's Daryl Hannah in the movie, Splash...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSK4KSZdBr4

As the Oceans Go....

In this TED video presentation, oceanographer Paul Snelgrove talks about a massive international effort to survey and collect population data on lhe lifeforms the world's oceans. What they found was alarming. Pelagic fish populations have declined dramatically due to human exploitation. Industrial fishing is virtually strip mining the oceans. In the middle of the Pacific, human detritus has accumulated in a massive whirlpool of waste several hundred miles wide. Yet, despite the dearth of human stewardship, the evidence suggests the ocean realm is highly resilient. It can recover if given a chance.

Here is the link to Paul Snelgrove's TED presentation...

http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_snelgrove_a_census_of_the_ocean.html

What makes a Video go Viral?

Here's a guy who works at You Tube talking about what makes a video go viral. Not an easy thing given that 48 hours of video are uploaded to You Tube every minute of every day.

http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_allocca_why_videos_go_viral.html

The Earth is Full

The evidence is all around us. The age of endless growth is over. The Earth is full of people; full of the waste we create, and at its limit in the amount of human induced stress it can endure. We humans all need to get on the same page and recognize that the era of endless growth is finished. We must work together to transform our society into something that appropriately reflects the ways of nature. WE must transform our economy. WE must make it equitable and sustainable over the long term. This is the message of Paul Gilding, who spoke at a recent TED conference.

Those who are indifferent to where we as a society are headed must wake up. We must all come to fear what will happen if we don't mend our ways. If we find motivation in that fear. If we begin to pull our oars together, all in the same worthy, sustainable direction, we can overcome the odds stacked against us. We can overcome the destructive inertia we have built up, and create a decent future for our children, living in harmony and balance with nature.

Here is the link to Paul Gilding's TED talk...

http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_gilding_the_earth_is_full.html

Alexandra Paul

There was a TV series in the nineties that for some time was the number one television show in the entire world. One of the stars of that series was an actress named Alexandra Paul. I first crossed paths with Alexandra at about that time, but our meeting and subsequent collaboration had no connection with the world of fame and celebrity. Alexandra Paul became a much valued friend as a consequence of our common activist concern about human overpopulation. We both wanted desperately to make a difference; to make a dent in the public's general indifference to the fact that human numbers on Earth have exploded. There are now more than seven billion of us; nearly three times the number there were when I emerged from the womb. Humans are consuming the planet's resources at an unprecidented scale, and shredding the fabric of the biosphere in the process.

Alexandra Paul, and I, along with our friends, Gregory Molina and Michael Tobias, made an educational video titled Jam Packed in 1997. Later, we were joined by Mark and Michelle Griffith on a follow-up video titled, The Cost of Cool. These films were two of the earliest efforts to deliver a wake-up call on overpopulation and consumption to a school age audience.

Here is a link to The Cost of Cool...

http://www.videoproject.com/cos-722-v.html

These days, Alexandra Paul is at least as famous for her activisim as she is for her acting. She is a passionate champion for clean energy. She was one of the first celebrities to drive around in an electric car. Currently, her preferred transportation is a Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid. She and her husband, a very good man named Ian Murray, are also committed advocates for animal rights. They recently helped rescue dozens of Beagles who had been enslaved from birth, caged and caught up in ugly cycles of canine laboratory testing.

Alexandra Paul is an exceptional human being. She is making a very worthy contribution to evolving a world that is sustainable and secure for future generations. She also gives great hugs.

Here is a link to Alexandra's webpage

http://www.alexandrapaul.com/

Simian Delight

Human interaction with wild gorillas was pretty much unheard of until Dian Fossey's enchanting, but ultimately tragic story was told in the movie, Gorillas in the Mist. The mountain gorilla is one of the most critically endangered, large animal species on Earth. As of January, 2011, there were just under 800 of them in the world. They can only be found in a few protected areas in the Eastern Congo, Uganda, and Ruwanda. These days their best hope may come from the tourist dollars generated by foreigners, who travel to Africa to experience wild gorillas, up close. These intelligent, peaceful, and mostly vegetarian creatures share about 99% of their genetic identity with humans.

I love this video. Partially because it is reminiscent of a scene in Change Agents, my most recent screenplay. The large male patriarch, also known as the silverback, weighs in the range of 400 pounds. In this amazing moment of human-gorilla interaction, the silverback pays an unexpected visit to a tourist camp, accompanied by his wives and their kiddies. 

The best part begins just over a minute into the video. It is magical. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvWjBlzArII

Firefighter

This image is the product of my first collaboration with Rumanian digital artist, Andreea Cernesteau. Her work is marvelous. More of it can be seen on her personal website...

http://frozenstarro.net/

The model for 'Firefighter' is Anna Marie

I am My Mother's Son

My mother, Edna Holland, has had a rich life. She was a young woman when the Second World War began. She married my father after the great conflict was over.  

Some years later, I was their first born child, conceived, as my mother tells it, in an unheated beachhouse on the rocky coast of Belfast, Maine. I actually traveled back there with them as an adult and saw that place. Pretty cool to know the exact place where sparks flew, and I became a zygote.

When I was young, my family, like so many families, was financially challenged. When we were kids, there might be one jug of Coca Cola a week for the whole family. When my mother poured out each allotment, my brother, and sister, and I would count the ice cubes in the glasses to make sure they were the same. We would fight over concern that one would get slightly more Coca Cola than the other. Anyway, my mom put up with a lot back then. I was a handful when I was eight years old.

My mom was a housewife, as was the norm in those times. Despite the challenges of making ends meet, she always made sure we had enough good food to eat. She made sure we went to school dressed decently. She put up with a lot of crap from all of us, and kept us going in the right direction. She also provided a safe nurturing ground so that each of us could grow up and turn out okay. I say this not to denigrate my father's love and influence, but to celebrate the reality that I am who I am largely because of my mom.

Through the years, both my parents were always there and always supportive as I carved my own unconventional path through life. Since 2004, when my father passed away, I have talked to my mother pretty much every day on the phone. I like talking to her. She lives now with my sister, Jill, in suburban Houston. My brother, Jay, who lives closeby, visits her regularly.

Even now, i talk to my mom when I need encouragement or pragmatic advice. I want her to know how much I appreciate all the love she has given me and the personal sacrifices she so often endured for me when I was growing up.

Thanks Mom. I love you.

No H8

I worked recently with a model named, Molli. She's tall and energetic; also very pretty, and very bright. She appears to be on a positive pathway through life.

Molli asked me to produce some images of her with the duct tape moniker adopted by activists for the social initiative known as No H8. This group is about treating gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender people as equal and worthy citizens, who are due the same respect as anyone in the straight community.

I thank Molli for inspiring me to express myself on this issue.

Sexual orientation is part of every person's DNA. It's the individual biological reflection of who we are. Each of us should be encouraged to embrace our identity. No one should be the subject of scorn because of it.

Bottom line: We are all members of the same human family. A high tolerance for differences should be society's norm.

Here is an image of Molli with the No H8 look...

http://www.noh8campaign.com/

V-Day

I worry a lot about the future of human civilization. Most people would agree that life on Earth is wildly out of balance. A course correction is badly needed.

Part of the solution lies with changing the overriding human paradigm, from the male dominance that has prevailed since the beginnings of agriculture ten thousand years ago to one of stewardship and compassion; a life affirming paradigm that will foster our transition to a relationship with the biosphere that is both celebratory and sustainable. Critical to that process is the ending of the violence and the oppression of women, and the acceptance of women as absolute equals to males. Some places are a lot further along that path than others.

V-Day is a remarkable, non-profit organization, with a grand mission designed to elevate women in every corner of the world. Early in 2013, V-Day will launch a global outreach effort that will shine a bright light on those places where women are still denied access to education and health care, and are subjected to rape and every other kind of violence and abuse.

Founded by Eve Ensler, the charismatic author of The Vagina Monologues, a play that has been performed thousands of times, on stages in every corner of the world, V-Day is an emerging phenomenon, galvanizing women of every ethnicity and persuasion to stand tall and seek respect and full gender equality. They even have a group called V-Men for guys like me.

Check out the link

http://www.vday.org/home

Venturing into Digital Art

This week, I began the first of several ongoing collaborations with digital artists. The two images below, which I took in my studio, reflect the digital magic of Portland-based artist, Gino Martino. Model Mayhem #1948921

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=aVIeVNK6mBk

Model: Charlotte
 

 

Model: Annie

Koyaanisqatsi

'Life out of balance', that is the meaning of Koyaanisqatsi, a word in the Hopi indian language that was applied in 1982 to a remarkable work by filmmaker, Godfrey Reggio. It's hard to believe that 30 years have passed since I saw Koyaanisqatsi the first time, when I was still a very young man. It had an indeliable impact on me, with its relentless montage of troubling images of the Earth and man, punctuated by a powerful soundtrack by Phillip Glass. Koyaanisqatsi helped bring focus to my life. I've traveled a meandering, unconventional path ever since, seeking ways to leave a positive mark.

Here is the trailer for the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirH8PADDgQ

I had the privilege of spending time with Godfrey Reggio a few years after Koyaanisqatsi was released. He was and remains a remarkable human being, in a life committed to exposing the troubling relationsip between humans and the planet they all depend on to survive. Reggio followed up Koyaanisqatsi with a second film, Powaqquasti, which means, 'Life in Transformation'

Here is a link to some moments from that film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFHQ8dhAJWU

I recently learned that now, all these years later, Reggio is working on what he calls the final piece of his triology. He calls it Naqoyqatsi, 'Life as War'. That suggests that Reggio's final shot across humanity's bow will be rather apocalyptic.

Here is a link to Godfrey Reggio's website.

http://www.koyaanisqatsi.org/films/film.php

Godfrey Reggio was a big part of my personal wake-up call. I recommend his marvelous work to anyone who cares about the future of human life on Earth.